


Words that we Couldn't Say

by bekeleven



Series: Words that we Couldn't Say [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Drama, Gen, Speech Disorders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2016-02-15
Packaged: 2018-05-14 09:28:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 12,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5738440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bekeleven/pseuds/bekeleven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neo's been searching for a person to hear her speak. She didn't expect to find one in a huntress-in-training she might have to kill.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

_What's that sound?_

Oh well. No need to tire herself out about it, she'd reach the corner in ten seconds even without her semblance.

Around the corner, Ruby found a small girl dressed in white and black. With the ribbons in her long black hair she almost looked like a miniature Blake. Different face, though. Green eyes. And more frill all over.

In other words, completely unfamiliar. And standing still. In front of Ruby's door. (Well, RWBY's door.)

"Are... you lost?"

The girl shook her head quickly and pointed down the hall, past Ruby.

"You're here for the tournament, right? I swear you're the... well, actually just the second person if you go by groups... Anyway, this is the Beacon dorm. That is the dorm for students. People. People from Vale. Well, Weiss isn't from Vale, I'm from Patch, and Blake... But we all go here! You don't go here, even though you came here."

The girl stared at Ruby, face neutral. Waiting, perhaps, for a coherent thought to pass Ruby's lips.

 _Stay strong, Rubes._ "You want me to show you the guest dorms?"

Mini-not-Blake stared and, after two or three eternities, nodded. Ruby walked down the hall and the girl followed. _I'm fifteen and think she's a girl. Is she competing? A younger sister maybe? She does look about my age..._ "My name is Ruby. What's yours?"

Ruby looked back for a response but all she saw was the girl's eyes, followed by a somewhat dismissive look. Had she heard of Ruby before? And if so, of what? The savior of Vale? The sister of a force of nature? The youngest Beacon student? _I thought she'd like that. You know, if she knew. Knows. People are complicated. This was the whole point of my knees!_

Maybe she applied to a school and got rejected. Maybe she didn't have silver eyes, or whatever Ozpin saw that night. Maybe maybe maybe. Ruby left the dorm and walked across the courtyard, the girl following, rolling her eyes.

If she was living in the guest dorms, doesn't that mean she's a competitor? Or something else? The child of a visiting professor, watching from the sidelines? A younger sibling, towed along unwilling? The possibilities were enough to break Ruby's heart.

So in the middle of the courtyard, she turned around and hugged the girl. "I think you'll be a fine huntress one day," Ruby stated matter-of-factly into the girl's shoulder.

Immediately Ruby felt the girl's hands on her chest. "Stop!" protested a tiny, indignant voice. Ruby let go and let the girl shove. She wasn't big, but she had force behind her hands.

"I'm sorry," Ruby said. It had seemed the right thing to do, although the girl's face said otherwise.

The girl looked up and down Ruby, eyes wide. She took a step back, followed by another, and finally rushed away, her face beet-red.

"I didn't mean to embarrass you!" shouted Ruby. Not like she should be that embarrassed, the courtyard was nearly empty. It was like...

Like it was time for a match! _Her_ match!

 _Well, I guess I'll be a little tired after all._ Ruby raced to the shuttle docks, petals following. _And what was with the umbrella?_


	2. So Much to Say

The guest dorms were nearly empty this time of day. Few people weren't at the fairgrounds or in Amity. The entire campus felt off-season. It got easier to breathe once Neo was inside, the walls and ceiling a comforting weight on her chest.

Neo looked in the bathroom and didn't see anyone there. _Still no good._ She washed her hands and stared at her forehead in the mirror.

She hadn't gotten into the room. More importantly, she talked. The girl made her _talk_. Heard her.

It bore further investigation.

_Fine then._ Back to Cinder's room.

The woman was inside, reading her scroll, a map of campus spread out on a table. "No contact. No success?"

Neo shook her head. Cinder didn't have to look up to understand.

"Hmm. Well, their match just ended. I asked Em to find the pairings. Looks like Schnee and the big one. Not a strong pair, but they'll do."

Neo took her scroll out and typed a message for Cinder. ɪ'ᴍ ɢᴏɪɴɢ ʙᴀᴄᴋ ᴛᴏɴɪɢʜᴛ.

Cinder's almost-permanent smug smile vanished. "We don't need information that badly. I may send you back during their next match, but certainly not before."

ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴏᴏᴍ ɴᴇᴇᴅs ᴍᴏʀᴇ ɪɴᴠᴇsᴛɪɢᴀᴛɪᴏɴ.

"We're all clean, looking as we are. I intend to keep us that way. Absolutely not."

"Mm!" grunted Neo, pointing at the clock on Cinder's wall.

"Go to your room. We'll speak more tomorrow." Cinder waved her left hand in vague dismissal and went back to her scroll.

Neo drew her blade from her umbrella and stabbed it into Cinder's map. The point pierced the paper between the words _Student_ and _Dorm_.

Cinder looked back up. "Are you finished?" The two locked eyes.

She was. Neo dislodged her blade from the table and walked out of the room, gently closing the door behind her.

* * *

_Go to your room._ What a joke. Officially, guest students were placed in doubles. Cinder's room _was_ her room.

Less officially, breaking the law has its upsides. Let Em and Merc be the true believers. Neo was being paid. A lot. She took a ship down into the city.

Southern residential was cheap housing, red brick apartment buildings by the block. She didn't know how the girl had done it. Certainly she would have no idea the significance of what happened. Neo's apartment was 304. As well as 204, 303, 305, and 404, but those were just buffer space. She swiped in and changed. It felt good to have her normal eyes, even for a few minutes.

Neo screamed.

A loud, inarticulate shriek. It had been in _public_! Sure, nobody was around. But what if they had been?

How had Ruby done it?

_Cinder has plans for her_. But Neo would have to find out. Even Cinder agreed she was her own woman, at least until tomorrow. She would simply have to investigate by herself.

And after Cinder's plans were finished, by then Neo would decide if Ruby got to live.


	3. Speak Like a Child

"And they looked like this," Ruby's sister told the table, making a face with her tongue hanging out. The entire table laughed, especially the orange hair one. She was fun. A shame things had been interrupted, but at least this way it could happen again.

"That sniper sure kept us on our toes," admitted the incompetent one.

"I know what you mean," agreed Ruby. "The staff guy was actually pretty tricky. Didn't look like much, but he kept me and Weiss busy for a while!"

"Didn't look like much?" asked Ruby's partner. "This? Coming from _you_?"

There wasn't much laughter, but most of it came from Ruby. It was good to look small. Nobody knew what you could do. Neo had to respect the hood.

"Is this enough, _mom_?" asked Ruby, rising with her empty plate.

Her sister sighed and raised a hand. "Like I could stop you if you tried."

Ruby dashed off to the buffet. Neo rose and followed. No good for the others to see her. They didn't seem smart enough to recognize her, but why take a chance?

Neo met her at the dessert table and started typing. Ruby saw her coming. "Oh, hello! I'm sorry about the hug and everything but I just thought you were sad that you didn't get into beacon and I thought in a few years you could…"

She stopped talking as Neo showed her the words on her scroll. ᴍʏ ɴᴀᴍᴇ ɪs ᴘᴏʟʟʏ.

"Hello, Polly. I'm Ruby. I guess I already said that, didn't I? But maybe you forgot! So now you didn't."

A man shoved between them. When he was out of the way, Neo showed her another message. ʜᴜɢ ᴍᴇ

"I thought you didn't like being hugged."

 _I really, really don't._ Neo grabbed the girl by her hand and walked out of the hall. Ruby followed, willing at first, then digging her heels outside the door. "I really shouldn't just leave my team without telling them where I'm going."

Well, at least it wasn't crowded. ʜᴜɢ ᴍᴇ

"Listen… Polly. I don't really know _why_ you're asking me this, but"

Neo pressed a key and presented her scroll. ʜᴜɢ ᴍᴇ!

"Yes Ma'am!" Maybe in the end, it was the glare that did it.

Ruby embraced her. It was a full hug, like last time. Neo turned her head to the side to breathe. And taking a breath, she thanked the girl.

Nothing came out.

She demanded to be let go. Air.

She cursed in every language of remnant. Her mouth opened, and that was all.

"Is this good?" asked Ruby.

_I don't get it. I've been grabbed before. I've been hugged before. Why could I speak to this girl? And why can't I now?_

Neo shoved her off again and typed. ᴡʜᴀᴛ's ʏᴏᴜʀ sᴇᴍʙʟᴀɴᴄᴇ?

"Uh, speed. I'm all zoom zoom fast. How about you?"

Nothing about the semblance. ɴᴏɴᴇ. What was left? Was Neo just caught that off-guard?

"Are you… are you competing in the tournament?"

ʏᴇs.

"Well, listen, I'm very flattered that you like hugging me, but I have to get"

ɪ'ʟʟ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴛᴏ sᴇᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ ᴛᴏᴍᴏʀʀᴏᴡ.

"I'm sorry, Polly, but I don't like you that way."

Neo deleted some words. ɪ'ʟʟ sᴇᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏᴍᴏʀʀᴏᴡ.

"Why, Polly?" The caution drained from Ruby's voice. She was demanding, and maybe a little out of patience.

She couldn't play around Ruby and Cinder both. One would have to be on her side. And Ruby would be a lot easier to convince. ɪ ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ sᴘᴇᴀᴋ ᴛᴏ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ.

"I was wondering why the scroll. So it's not just a sore throat?"

ᴡʜᴇɴ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴜɢɢᴇᴅ ᴍᴇ ɪ sᴘᴏᴋᴇ. ɪ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴡʜʏ. ɪ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ sᴘᴇᴀᴋ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ.

"Oh. Wait, why?"

ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴋɴᴏᴡ.

"Well…" Ruby paused. "If you want to see me again, you have to do something for me too."

Neo waited. Was Ruby expecting her to type an answer to that? Was a waste of time.

"Tell me why you're glaring at me all the time. Like now."

The most insidious lies were the ones that were true. ɪ ᴜsᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴀʙʟᴇ ᴛᴏ sᴘᴇᴀᴋ.

Ruby nodded. "Well, if you think that I can help, I'll meet you tomorrow before lunch. I'm a helper. You'll see. Ruby Rose will have you speaking in no time!" She dashed into the door, perhaps to punctuate the _no time_ part, but it had just swung closed. Miraculously, the girl bounced off instead of breaking anything. _This whole building looks reinforced._

Silently, Neo laughed.

* * *

She held her hand upagainst her nightlight, making shadows on the ceiling. A cat. She'd been held before. Even back when she could speak. Never by somebody her age, though. Was that it? _Dust save me, will I have to find a child?_

An ursa. She didn't want to if she could help it. Children were always boring. Never fight back. The shadows were warped, cast sideways instead of straight up, from her position on the bed. It seemed more appropriate for Grimm.

A nevermore. It didn't seem related to Aura. Just to her. To why she couldn't speak. Didn't speak. She'd have to try more with Ruby, somehow.

Ruby Rose.

Neo thought of her smashing into the door and laughed. It began as a giggle that transformed into a wheeze when she ran out of air. Eventually she got her breathing under control and readjusted her pillow. Then she popped her umbrella open, casting the entire ceiling in shadow.


	4. City of Dreams

Neo slipped the prescription across the counter to the pharmacist and pointed to a shelf behind him. The man took it, read it, and walked straight by that shelf into the back.

She snapped her finger a couple of times, but he didn't look back at her. He opened the door to the back room and disappeared.

Neo had no fear of him contacting the authorities. Her identity was clean. And even if Torchwick had written the prescription, he'd done a _very good job_ on his forgery.

If Torchwick turned and talked, they wouldn't track her by her prescription use, they'd go to her apartment. Funny that even in when he went to prison she was happy she'd had him make the calls to the landlord instead of Cinder. Was it because he was trustworthy? Well, not so much trustworthy as... transparent. He might get something turning her in, but nothing he _wanted_.

The man appeared in the doorway. "I'm sorry, we're out of..." He followed her hand, still pointing, to the shelf. It was _right there_. Blue box, red text. He checked, and obligingly placed a box in her bag.

"I have ears, you know," he admonished as he rung her up.

 _You only need eyes._ Neo left to walk back home. The pharmacy was cheaper than ones in better neighborhoods, _and_ it was in a worse neighborhood. Win-win. After dealing with imbeciles for over a day with no outlet...

A hand grabbed one of her neck frills and pulled yanked her into an alley. _THANK DUST!_

Neo pushed towards the grab and sailed right past her assailant. She'd need to be deeper in the alleyway to avoid notice from the street. Slipping from his grip, she stopped in front of an alley wall and turned to face him.

He was tall, and wore all black, save his red tie and glasses. Axe holstered. She'd seen the type. Bottom-feeders. This would hardly be fun at all. Further into the alley she saw an open dumpster, although it didn't look full.

"Bag and wallet," he told her. So Neo shrunk back, bumped into the wall, and clutched the bag to her chest. She mostly kept the smirk from her face. Sometimes that could deter people.

He walked up to her. She reached out an arm and shoved him back.

"Listen, little girl." He stepped up again. "Just give me the bag and" Neo shoved him back again. _Almost there._

"All right, that's it." He punched. Neo ducked, dropping her bag. His fist hit the wall. She moved deeper into the alley, to the dumpster. He followed, swinging a haymaker. Neo ducked again, kicking the dumpster back with a foot. It slammed backwards into the wall and the force smashed the lid down on his hand. His aura cracked.

Now the fun part. Does he call for help? A grown man with an axe on his belt, against _her_?

He ran.

Neo flipped her umbrella into the air and grabbed the end, then reached out and tripped him with the handle. _You grabbed me by my outfit. Could've ripped. Do you have any idea how much this costs?_

She walked up to him and kicked his calf. He whimpered when the bone broke. _An arm and a leg._ She took another step and kicked his forearm. Another beautiful snap. _And one for good luck._ She kicked his upper arm too. It was _still_ only one arm and leg. An even trade.

His left hand was going for a scroll. Neo picked up her bag and left. Let him.

The entire encounter had barely run thirty seconds. On the bright side, at least she'd had one. She couldn't devote time to seeking them out, but when one dropped into her lap, she could hardly be expected to refuse.

She had to get up the hill to Beacon. It was getting near lunchtime.


	5. Letting My Heart Speak

The problem with being the help was lack of information. Just enter when you're told and do your duty. No beginning or end; no context. Just the job. Of course, just doing the job has upsides. Certainly requires less time _because sitting around brooding and looking for fights is such a good use._ As a less integral member they rely on you less _because distance from people is serving me so well._

Yes, Neo needed more hobbies. But for now she simply needed an answer to Ruby's question that wouldn't get the girl suspicious.

ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅɴ'ᴛ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴍʏ ᴛᴇᴀᴍᴍᴀᴛᴇs.

"I mean, probably not. I don't know many students from Haven. Mostly just Sun and his boys. I did just meet this girl Arslan, but you're not one of her teammates."

sʜᴇ's ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ɢᴏᴏᴅ. Hopefully Neo's real feelings wouldn't show on her face. It would be true to Ruby, which was what mattered. Besides, the girl was too busy staring around the gazebo to pay attention to Neo's face. Neo didn't even realize there were spots this secluded on campus. Not secluded enough that she'd be able to talk, but secluded.

"Yeah. She gave Yang a beating, and Yang is, like, invincible."

Neo smiled. What else could she possibly do? She opened her scroll. ᴀɴʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ ᴏɴ ᴍᴇ sᴘᴇᴀᴋɪɴɢ

"Well, did you try feeling what you felt when I hugged you?"

ᴀɴɢᴇʀ

"Polly..." Ruby collected her thoughts. "When I started work on Crescent Rose she was just a scythe. Now she's a collapsible high-caliber custom-shell bolt-action sniper scythe." The girl unfolded her weapon and made some sort of baby sound as she nuzzled her face across the handle.

Neo waited for Ruby to remember she wasn't alone. Or rather, that she and Crescent Rose weren't alone.

One of her face-rubs brought Neo across the girl's line of sight. "Uh... anyway." She snapped back up and collapsed her weapon again. "Back to that thing that I was saying and still am saying. I figure you've spent as much time being angry at stuff, _like now please stop glaring it's kind of scary_ as I have on Crescent Rose. So just angry doesn't really cover it."

She was, annoyingly, very right. But Neo didn't have words for her feelings. She'd never had to explain them. Never been able. Just feeling them was enough.

ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴅɪᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ғᴇᴇʟ?

"I felt sorry for you."

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ sᴛɪʟʟ

Ruby hesitated. "Yes."

ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ sᴘᴇᴀᴋ ᴜɴᴛɪʟ ɪ'ᴍ ᴅᴏɴᴇ.

With the girl looking over her shoulder, Neo began to type. Ruby's scroll began to beep. Both ignored it.

ɪ ᴡᴀs ᴀɴɢʀʏ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏᴜᴄʜᴇᴅ ᴍᴇ. ɪ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴛᴏᴜᴄʜᴇᴅ. ɪ ᴡᴀs ᴄᴏɴғᴜsᴇᴅ. ʏᴏᴜ sᴇᴇᴍᴇᴅ ɴɪᴄᴇ ʙᴜᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴀᴛᴛᴀᴄᴋɪɴɢ ᴍᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍʏ sᴘᴀᴄᴇ ᴀᴛ ʟᴇᴀsᴛ ɪᴛ ғᴇʟᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴀɴ ᴀᴛᴛᴀᴄᴋ ᴀɴᴅ ɪ ғᴇʟᴛ ᴠᴇʀʏ ᴠᴜʟɴᴇʀᴀʙʟᴇ ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜsᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴇʀᴇ sᴏ ᴄʟᴏsᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ɪ ᴅɪᴅɴ'ᴛ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴅᴏɪɴɢ ᴏʀ ʜᴏᴡ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇsᴘᴏɴᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴛ sᴄᴀʀᴇᴅ ᴍᴇ.

Neo turned to Ruby to signal that she was finished. Ruby read the words a second time. _Beep, beep, beep._ That scroll was insistent.

No hugs this time. Ruby grabbed Neo's hand and squeezed.

_Beep beep beep._

Neo exhaled a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Her chest was spasming in what turned out to be a laugh, a nervous giggle of released tension. The worst was over and she could come down. It made a small sound.

The sound made Ruby look around, and she glanced down to her pocket for the first time. "That's my uncle," she said. "I have to go. I'll see you again soon!"

In a burst of petals, she was off.

* * *

The student records at Beacon were public information within the city. It was easy enough for a resident to access the directory.

ROSE, RUBY: RWBY came with a picture. Neo propped her scroll up on her nightstand, so she could see the girl's face lying down in bed. She reached out towards it, but her fingers stopped short of the screen.

"Good morning," Neo said to the picture. Her voice was cautious, quiet. Afraid to come out.

"Good morning." She had to want it. To want to speak.

"Good morning."

"Good morning."

"Good morning."


	6. So Says I

Neo wasn't asleep when the message came, she just should've been. _Cinder relies a lot on me leaving my scroll off silent._ It might explain the generous retainer. Two streets, an intersection nearby.

Neo wouldn't do. Nor would Polly want to be associated with whatever Cinder had in mind. Tonight she would be Lita, dressing out of the false trunk bottom. Nondescript. Dark, neutral tones. sleeveless, striped shirt. Black armbands. Brown eyes. Navy scroll case. One costume-jewelry necklace. The hair could stay black.

When Neo got to the corner her scroll buzzed again. ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ɪɴsɪᴅᴇ. ᴄ. A light flicked on in an upstairs window of a warehouse across the street. The industrial district was totally deserted this time of night, save the odd security guard, and with Cinder here _those_ wouldn't be much worry. Neo crossed the street, hopped the gate and, using her umbrella, guided a jump inside.

An accounting room, with computers, one of them on. Cinder was alone. She turned off the lights. "Thank you for your prompt arrival. There's a medivac on the bottom floor. You'll be driving it out. You have a license?"

Neo pressed some keys and held her scroll out to Cinder. ɴᴏ

"But do you need one?" The woman smiled.

Neo smiled too, and kept her scroll out.

"Excellent. I'll handle things on the ground. The records are already in place. Just drive it out to the west, I have a location." Cinder got her own scroll out and sent Neo another message.

The two took the stairs to the ground floor. At the bottom, Neo got her attention with a "Mm?" and started typing.

Cinder waited.

ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴘᴀɪʀ

"Sleeping. They had a big day today. Don't worry, we're all still on the same side."

 _Roman is still in jail._ They always began with sisterhood, with loyalty and togetherness. Then the favors get returned, and they just keep asking for more. And eventually, when they need someone to take the fall, or just don't want to share the take... And this time, Neo couldn't even do anything about it. Cinder was too powerful. _I'm still faster. If I have to be._

But so far Cinder had been good. Been honest. Given her access to her plans, at least as much as she had to. Trusted her with a medivac.

It was larger than anything she'd driven before, and she'd barely had experience in three dimensions. Neo opened the door and got into the driver's seat. She couldn't see in front of her. She fiddled with the dash. There were bottom-facing cameras for landing, but nothing to show straight forward.

So Neo raised the seat. And still couldn't see. She grabbed a thick book from the glove compartment and placed it in the seat beneath her. And couldn't reach the pedals.

Her scroll vibrated. ᴀʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴏᴍɪɴɢ?

Neo typed back, ʜᴀɴᴅ ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴏʟs

Twenty seconds later, ᴍᴀɴᴜᴀʟ ɪɴ ɢʟᴏᴠᴇ

The book Neo was sitting on. _Of course._ three minutes later, she was in the air. She caught sight of Cinder and a few limp forms just outside the warehouse main door - it reminded Neo of the good side of her job - and took off for Cinder's warehouse by the docks.

Luckily, the warehouse door was open when Neo arrived. Less luckily, it was open because a group of white fang were rolling a crate out on a pallet jack. She brought the craft in low, waited for the group to get the crate past the opening, and slid through with only minor scraping on the front right wing. She landed, disembarked, and went outside where the group had opened the crate and started to unpack individual boxes of dust. She counted four men and two women. They stopped when they saw her walk up.

One of the men, tall and with green scales running up his neck, stepped forward to meet Neo. "We're done here. We're through getting our hands dirty and dying for human politics. We're taking some dust as payment, and you'll never see us again." He turned back to his friends. "Keep unloading." He had the mask of a lieutenant, or whatever they called the rank.

 _Must recognize me. Or just have an idea I'm someone that needs an explanation._ Neo stepped forward, twirling her umbrella playfully, pointed down. The other Faunus stood still. _He's right about that. But not about him leaving._

"Fine then, human." The lieutenant took a step towards her, bringing him within ten feet. He raised his left arm above his head and flicked the limb towards her, hand twirling like he threw a frisbee. Only instead, a chain shot out of his sleeve and wrapped around Neo's arms and chest. The chain was covered in hooks, the kind that could tear flesh if her aura broke. It wrapped itself around her body and hooked into itself, pinning her arms to her sides.

The lieutenant yanked her forward, and Neo stumbled towards him, into his fist. The blow sent her flying back, so she spun to unravel the chain. She got some links uncaught while the chain had slack but only managed a half-revolution before he pulled her back to towards him and kicked her in the chest. She flew into the air, the chain went taut, and she arced towards the ground.

Neo pointed her umbrella downwards and released the catch, firing the front of the umbrella into the ground to slow her fall. It barely had room to fire and didn't even clear the blade in the handle, but she slowed to a safer speed, and as she hit the ground it reslotted into the handle and clicked into place. Since her hands were pinned at her waist she balanced her weight on the umbrella, pivoted across it and landed on her feet. Then she pointed the tip at the lieutenant, opened the umbrella with a button and fired it again with another, blasting him with a ring of fabric and metal aimed at his neck.

The lieutenant stumbled back, pulling Neo along. She moved into the pull, staying balanced on her feet this time, and when he threw the umbrella away from his face she headbutted him in the chest. He reeled, and she dodged left and planted her feet, causing him to clothesline himself with his own chain and fall to the ground. _Finally!_ Neo saw some of the other faunus move to surround the pair.

With her hands pinned to her waist, Neo could only strike so high. When the lieutenant went down, she jumped on top of him and stabbed towards his wrist, skewering a link in his chain and pinning it to the concrete. Then she kicked his arm as hard as she could, dealing no damage through aura, but with a rip of fabric she disconnected the end of the chain from his sleeve. She brought her blade up with the link still skewered and flicked it off, spinning the chain around her body, unwinding it; the hooks kept it together from one direction only. The chain whirled around her body and kept the other white fang at bay. When she finally freed herself, she held onto the end and kept spinning it over her head. It was good to be small.

 _This one is fun! He deserves a send-off._ Neo was smiling. Her eyes had probably gone pink again. The front of her umbrella was on the ground to her left.

The lieutenant rose and grabbed the end of the chain as it twirled, so Neo dropped it and let the momentum tangle him. Then she kicked the front of her umbrella behind him, then bowled him into it, stabbing into his chest. His aura broke.

And once again the blade in the handle clicked into place inside the handle. Neo was grinning from ear to ear.

One of the other white fang took off running. Neo heaved the corpse into a standing position, aimed, and fired. The front of the umbrella shot out from the man's back and took the woman to the ground. Neo rushed forward, between two of the other white fang, who wisely chose to stay still.

 _This one's no fun at all._ Neo stood over her prone form and took out her scroll. Typing was awkward with one hand still holding her umbrella handle, but the blade was too bloody for her to hang it at her waist. After ten long seconds she held her scroll out to the woman cowering on the ground.

"Re... read this out loud?" she stammered.

Neo took the scroll back and typed some more.

"This will be our secret if you..." she gulped. "Our secret if you clean up your mess."

After the woman finished reading, Neo turned to glare at the others, still clustered by the dust crate and their leader's body.

He was skilled. Neo's aura had gotten low. She'd been sloppy. Sleep-deprived and sloppy.

Neo turned back to the faunus by her feet and pointed at the boxes of dust. From the look on her face the woman just remembered she was on the ground, so she rose and ran to the boxes, picking one up and carrying it back to the crate. Another man picked up the lieutenant's body and started dragging it into the warehouse.

Neo cleaned and stowed her weapon. Even still, she had too much blood on her clothing to take transportation back to her apartment. It was a long walk from the docks to the residential district. A young woman, alone, late at night. Almost no aura remaining. Anything could happen.

_I should be so lucky._

She thought it, but didn't really mean it. She'd had enough excitement for one night. Sleep - maybe four hours if she walked quickly - was her goal now. _Good morning._ She could still practice, in her head.


	7. Come Talk to Me

_Maybe it will be good._

_It's not physical. My body can talk. It's just my inhibitions that stop me. And lack of sleep is supposed to lead to lower inhibitions. I think I read that somewhere._

A blinking warning on Neo's scroll was telling her that lack of sleep also led to lower aura. A round of _Grim Defense_ on the shuttle told her her it led to slower reaction times. And her daily crossword said her thinking had suffered as well, although experience said it would be worse day 2.

Neo was having a hard time convincing herself it was a good idea. As she looked around the mess hall, full of energetic students wasting their free time, she failed to suppress her sneer.

 _I'm wasting free time too. Oh no, does lack of sleep lead to introspection? That is the last thing I need._ Besides, she wasn't _wasting_ time. Not exactly. Neo turned away from the path to the side door she sat near. She was _waiting._

It wouldn't do to look desperate.

It took five more agonizing minutes of pretending to drink orange juice before Neo spotted her. Ruby, walking towards the door. Neo stared intently at the wall, raising her glass to her lips.

"Polly?"

Neo turned towards her and smiled. Belatedly, she tried to look at least a little surprised. Polly wasn't the type of person to map out routes and plan encounters, at least as far as Neo could tell.

"Polly, it is you! Just sittin' alone, drinking your juice?"

Neo could plan much better with a full night's sleep. She got out her scroll. ʏᴇs.

"How come I never see you with your team?"

ᴡᴇ'ʀᴇ ᴛᴇᴀᴍ ᴍᴀᴛᴇs, ɴᴏᴛ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅs.

"That's a shame. I don't know what I'd do here without my team. I mean, I got a lot of friends here in my time at Beacon, but a a bunch of them will be leaving town once the festival ends. I guess that's you too."

"Mm." Neo pointed at the door. It was progress, in a way. She didn't grunt unless she was comfortable with someone, or occasionally trying to kill them.

"Ok, we can head out. Also: Did not know you could do that."

"Mm."

Ruby led the way towards the guest dorms. Probably to go to Neo's room. Would Cinder be in there? Did Cinder even leave the second bed in it? _Lack of sleep led to poor memory recall in most subjects._ And to rub it in, Neo couldn't remember where she'd read that.

Neo cut across the courtyard towards Ruby's dorm.

"Well, ok. You don't want to speak in your room?"

Neo typed as she walked. ᴍʏ ᴛᴇᴀᴍ ᴍᴀᴛᴇs ᴀʀᴇ ɪɴ. It took Ruby a second to read, with both of them walking.

"Oh. Well, Yang is probably too pumped about her match and Weiss will be with her, but Blake stops by for books sometimes even when she doesn't stay to read so don't be surprised she's really nice and kinda quiet. Not like, _you_ quiet, but quiet and smart and I think you'd get along!"

Neo walked up to the girl's door and typed while she opened it. ɪ'ᴍ ʜᴇʀᴇ ғᴏʀ ʏᴏᴜ.

"Eh... well, yes. Anyway! You can make sound. That's cool."

The room was not what Neo expected, although perhaps she should've. The four beds were arranged in two piles, one normal if unsteady-looking and the other with the top bed hanging from the ceiling. A small dog ran up to Ruby and she lifted it up and pet it.

"Does your not being here for people include dogs?"

ɪᴛ ᴅᴏᴇs.

"Oh." Ruby sat down on a bed - the one with another bed suspended above it - and patted the sheets next to her. Neo walked up and sat down, and Ruby dropped the dog on the bed between them. "So. It's a mystery, is it."

There was a _whoosh_ of air and Ruby produced a magnifying glass and a funny looking hat. _So fast!_ "Detective Ruby is on the case!" she declared, peering through the glass at Neo's face. "The case of the missing voice. Don't worry, Polly. We'll find it."

Neo laughed.

"The first question the detective must ask is, where did you see it last?"

ɪɴ ᴍʏ ʜᴏᴜsᴇ.

"Did you check under your bed?"

ɪᴛ's ɴᴏᴛ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ. Neo began to pet the dog. It curled up on her lap.

"Well, how did you lose it?"

Neo needed more. Cinder had mentioned Ruby and her team a few times with Neo in the room, but never all that many details about the girl herself. ʜᴏᴡ ᴀʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴘᴀʀᴇɴᴛs

"Well, If it will help us solve the case... My mother is dead and my father is nice, but he spends a lot of time away."

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ʜɪᴍ? Neo wasn't sure if being conscious of her condition was making her overly cautious, or if she was only broaching the entire topic due to her uncharacteristically poor impulse control.

"Yes. And my mother too."

ɪ'ᴍ ɴᴏᴛ ᴛᴇʟʟɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡʜʏ ɪ ʟᴏsᴛ ᴍʏ ᴠᴏɪᴄᴇ.

The pair locked eyes. Neo didn't smirk, didn't glare. Just met the challenge in Ruby's face. Ruby sized her up, and finally removed her cap. "I want to help. I do. Please let me, Polly."

_If she asks for it, give it._

_She doesn't know what she's saying._

_Oh, and_ I'm _the expert at saying?_

ɪ ʜᴀᴠᴇɴ'ᴛ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴀʙʟᴇ ᴛᴏ sᴘᴇᴀᴋ ᴛᴏ ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴘᴇʀsᴏɴ sɪɴᴄᴇ ᴍʏ ᴘᴀʀᴇɴᴛs sᴏʟᴅ ᴍᴇ.

Ruby read the scroll and looked back at Neo's face. Neo's cheeks flushed, and she swallowed. Suddenly it was very difficult to keep her composure. She squirmed as Ruby's face drew close, and the dog jumped off her lap and hid under the bed.

A blonde boy - the incompetent one - saw the pair from the hall, opened his mouth as if to speak, and closed the door instead.

Ruby asked, "Have your eyes always been silver?"

 _Oh no._ Even when tired, Neo hadn't slipped up that badly for years. _How much does she know?_

_All of it? Any?_

Neo held up her scroll. Her hands shook as she typed, ɪ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴛᴏ ɢᴏ.

"Oh. I -"

Neo placed a finger on Ruby's mouth to quiet her.

And she went.


	8. Hard to Say

Amity was a wonderful building. Most of the space was taken by the arena in its center and machinery below, but around its edges honeycombed a network of rooms and hallways. Inside those twisting passages, the building felt almost like a cave. Large, yet intimate. Room to run, but short passageways to fight. No long distances.

Neo left the bathroom to find an orange-haired girl wearing green overalls over a tan blouse. Maybe a contestant, Neo wasn't following the tournament. Whoever she was, she was watching Neo more closely than she'd like. Neo took a few steps down the hall and the girl followed.

 _Fine. I can play._ Neo stopped, took out her scroll, and began to type. ᴡʜʏ ᴀʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ

"My name is Penny." The girl extended her hand. Her voice was chipper. "You are Polly Ciara. I enjoyed your appearance in the tournament."

Neo took a breath and tried to cut down on her glare. Better to simply shake off the admirer and be on her way. ɪ'ᴍ ɴᴏᴛ ᴀᴅ

"Oh, I know! Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai are very capable fighters. I would very much like to meet one of them in the singles round."

Once was maybe a coincidence, but there was no way the girl could answer questions before Neo had finished typing them, much less shown the other girl her scroll. _Is she guessing what I type from the way my fingers move?_ This would be so much easier to solve on six hours of sleep. _Is she reading my mind? No. That just causes more problems than it answers._ Neo blinked.

Penny remained still, her hand thrust forward. Neo stowed her scroll and shook Penny's hand, hoping to at least resolve one outstanding issue. Maybe it would make the girl go away.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Polly Ciara."

 _Fine. Let's see how good you are._ Neo looked at Penny, then placed her hands in front of her body, as though she held an invisible scroll. She moved her thumbs to where she'd find the keys, "ɪᴛs ɴɪᴄᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴇᴇᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏᴏ."

"Thank you!" responded Penny.

"ʜᴏᴡ ᴄᴀɴ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴇʟʟ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ɪᴍ ᴛʏᴘɪɴɢ"

"Oh. I have a lot of experience with keyboards." She sounded apologetic, or maybe embarrassed. "...and mechanics of things like that." She hiccuped.

Something was very wrong with this girl. With the whole situation. But really, mostly the girl. "ᴀɴᴅ ᴡʜʏ," ghost-typed Neo, "ᴅɪᴅ ʏᴏᴜ sᴀʏ ʜᴇʟʟᴏ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴇ"

"I have a question for you, Polly Ciara."

Fine then. She still had time. "ᴡʜᴀᴛ"

"Weren't your eyes green in the broadcast?"

 _So I go five years without a single slip-up, then I compromise an identity when I get tired and project my body wrong. Great. Just great._ She'd have to take measures. Make sure no fallout reached Cinder. The last thing she needed was both sides after her, _and_ aware of her powers.

Neo was armed, but the umbrella was tucked deep into her backpack. She'd have to open unarmed. _Wait. This girl made it to the singles round. She's going to be good at..._

Eh. Not like most of the competitors were that good. Neo's aura still wasn't full, but she'd...

_Wait. There may be a much simpler solution._

"ɴᴏ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴡᴇʀᴇɴ'ᴛ" Neo mimed.

"Oh. I'm sorry, I must be mistaken." Penny hiccuped again.

_Well, brain, you haven't totally abandoned me. Just decided to take a vacation every once in awhile._

The bathroom door swung open. Out walked a dark-skinned, blue-haired woman looking down at her watch. "I apologize, ma'am. I spent forty three seconds over my esti..." She looked up and trailed off when she saw Neo. "And who is this?"

"This is Polly Ciara," answered Penny, holding her arms towards Neo like she was a game show prize. "She was a very good fighter in the first round of the tournament, although she was holding back."

"Fascinating," said the blue-haired woman in perfect monotone. Neo noticed a golden mark on her forehead, just beneath her hat. "I trust we can be on our way promptly."

"Of course," Penny said with finality. She took a few steps down the hallway, so the woman started to walk as well. Penny turned around so that she was walking backwards. "It was very nice speaking with... meeting you, Polly."

The other one wasn't watching - couldn't be bothered? - so Neo felt safe miming an answer. "ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏᴏ." Who knew if she was close enough to make it out.

* * *

The stadium was too large to see across. At least, if Neo were going for faces. Most students preferred the ringside seats, so all Neo had to find was a splotch of red and black.

She didn't see any, so Neo began strolling around the isle underneath the stands. If Ruby weren't here, then fine, she would have to wait until tomorrow.

Neo had never had this much free time under Torchwick. Of course, Torchwick was weak. He'd needed protection. And Torchwick was _public_ , so he'd needed it often. _Why_ had Neo let those girls run past her and capture him?

_Three was a stretch. Two was fine, but three was a stretch. I didn't know what they could do. Those Schnee glyphs..._

"Polly?" Said a voice. It was Ruby, in the aisle behind Neo. Had Neo walked right by her seat?

No matter. Neo grabbed Ruby's arm and pulled her into the nearest hallway. Nearly everyone was already seated for the fight about to start. Then she got out her scroll. ʀᴜʙʏ ɪ'ᴍ sᴏʀʀʏ ғᴏʀ ʀᴜɴɴɪɴɢ.

"It's Ok, Polly. I know... well, I don't know, like _know_ know but I understand that you were going through a lot and how hard it must have been for you to say what you said. And thank you for trusting me."

Neo nodded and looked around the hallway. The last bystander was entering the stadium proper, lost in the sunlight and glare. She turned back to Ruby.

_Want it._

"G-good morning."

Ruby's eyes widened, and she scooped Neo into a hug. "Polly, your voice is so beautiful! I love it!" With her head on Neo's shoulder she asked, "But, isn't is the afternoon?"

 _Last time she hugged me_ before _I spoke. Things seem to be moving in reverse._ Neo disentangled herself from Ruby's arms and typed, sᴏʀʀʏ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴀs ᴡʜᴀᴛ ɪ ᴘʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴄᴇᴅ.

"Polly, that's amazing! We should -" one of the announcers said something over the P.A. "That's Weiss and Yang! Listen, I have to go watch them with Blake. But now that you can speak you definitely have to meet them. They'll love you! Really, especially Yang." Ruby kissed Neo on the forehead. "Tomorrow, at dinner. See you there!" She ran back into the stadium.

 _Fine then. Tomorrow._ Neo forgave the girl's misunderstanding. She was grinning too widely to care.


	9. Shout it Out Loud

"Good morning." Neo had already used that one, but it felt right to say. Warm. Familiar.

"Good evening." That one was next. Only half new, an easy transition. An adaptation of previous success.

"It's nice to meet you." A distant future. If there were words she knew she'd never say, it would be ones used to talk to strangers. Like it or not, Neo didn't see herself just giving her voice to anyone that walked by.

She'd have to let Ruby down gently. The girl seemed to think that speech equaled speech. There were rules. Protocols.

Well, no. There were _anxiety disorders_. But those were just a form of rule.

Meeting new people. Ruby's teammates. They'd seen her up close - especially Yang, the sister. Would they recognize her? Probably not. Cinder had been dismissive, but back then they'd just discussed incidental meetings, passing in halls. Cinder would change her tune if she knew Neo was about to get introduced to the gang as "look at my tiny silent friend."

Or were they all as nice and stupid as Ruby?

As stupid, yet nice...

Neo's scroll beeped. ᴅʀɪᴠᴇ ɪᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴀᴍɪᴛʏ.

Neo sighed. "Fine then, Cinder," she spoke. Neo spoke out loud sometimes, just because she could. No time specified, so as soon as she could.

Neo's day _was_ free, at least until the evening. She'd never be caught _speaking_ to herself with other responsibilities on the line.

"Rush service is why I get paid. Also the killing." Neo became Lita and opened her front door - strange, she could almost feel her voice leaving her throat as the door squeaked on its hinges - and took the stairs down. She wrote an address on a piece of paper and handed it to a cabbie. It was only two blocks away from her real destination. And she'd seen others hand them addresses too. A common pattern. Not out of place or worth remembering.

Well, nothing for it but to act with confidence. Neo walked straight into the warehouse, past the interior white fang guards, and with their assistance pushed the main doors open. Then she boarded the medivac and took off. She didn't recognize any, though some seemed to recognize her. A little complimentary enforcement. Cinder and Adam could thank her later.

Nobody stopped a medivac in flight, and she was close within minutes. ɴᴏᴡ ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ

ᴇᴀsᴛ ғʀᴇɪɢʜᴛ ᴅᴏᴄᴋ. ɪ ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴏᴀʀᴅ.

Two minutes later, Cinder was with her, wearing a paramedic's uniform. The woman threw Neo a shopping bag. "This should fit you. And it wasn't easy to find in your size." A matching set. How cute. Neo changed, with Cinder looking on.

"Now we wait." Amity throbbed with the sound of cheering. A match had begun.

Neo took out her scroll. ᴡʜᴀᴛ's ᴄᴏᴍɪɴɢ?

"A student will be tragically injured. We will take that student to get medical attention."

A student. She couldn't mean..?

 _No._ Cinder couldn't know about Ruby. And even if she did, they'd stolen the medivac far before things between them had gotten... whatever they were. Not serious. But whatever they were. Neo couldn't think of a good word for it. Was it friends?

She didn't have much experience with it, whatever it was.

A second round of cheering, cut short by something. The sound was still loud, whatever it was, but it didn't seem like applause. "That will be our cue." Cinder opened the docking door, stepped off the craft and closed it behind her.

It couldn't be..?

No. Ruby said her teammates were in the doubles round. It couldn't be her. That was just sleep deprivation and paranoia speaking.

The door opened again and Cinder was guiding a pair of medics with a stretcher. On the stretcher was Mercury. And following was, of course, Emerald. Neo couldn't recall seeing the two apart for long.

_And she wouldn't bring me here just to teach me a lesson. That was just paranoia too._

Cinder guided the medics to deposit the pair, gave them a few reassurances, and closed the door behind her. Neo took off, headed back to the warehouse. Its location was somewhat isolated for a reason, although medivac traffic still seemed risky.

Mercury had faked a leg injury in a match. Wasn't sporting, but Neo didn't work with Cinder because the woman was sporting. They flew away, Cinder complimenting her pickup. Neo smiled.

_She wouldn't teach me a lesson like this. If anything, she'd kill the girl and let me know via text._

Let the troubles of the world wait. They were meeting for dinner, in the mess. And Neo would _try_ to speak to her team. She wouldn't. But she would try.

Ruby would be so happy if she could.


	10. And So the Talking Stopped

Neo arrived at 5:30, when the hall opened for dinner. She was feeling more like a student very day; all that was missing was actually going to class. She kept an eye on the door - Ruby always entered through the main door - and opened _Grim Defense_ to Vale's Volleys on her scroll. _Good evening. Good evening._ Stay alert. Don't miss her.

New level: _Vacuo Violation_. Ruby usually came in with her team around 5:50, so any minute now. What _would_ Cinder think if she saw? What was Cinder planning with team RWBY?

Neo would simply have to make things clear. Ruby was off-limits. She was claimed. Any plans Cinder had with the girl couldn't be worth Neo's bad side. Neo didn't want to see Cinder's bad side either, but it would be enough of a pain on both ends that Cinder would budge. The rest of RWBY... well. Neo wouldn't pick that battle unless they really impressed her.

_Or unless I can speak to them._ New level: _Mistral Massacre_. But finding one was crazy enough. What would be the odds there would be another person at Beacon to hear her? A person willing to accept her, to support her, without demanding favors, asking questions, forcing...

Game over. ᴛʜᴇ ɢʀɪᴍᴍ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴏᴠᴇʀʀᴜɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄɪᴛʏ. ᴄᴀʟʟ ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴄɪᴛʏ ғᴏʀ ᴀɪᴅ? (1 ʟɪᴇɴ) ᴘʀᴇss ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴀᴄᴀᴅᴇᴍɪᴇs ɪɴᴛᴏ sᴇʀᴠɪᴄᴇ? (0.50 ʟɪᴇɴ)

Where _was_ that girl? The hall was beginning to empty.

Neo was used to severing ties with others. But in most cases, she was the one doing the severing. Of the ties, of the others. They used her, and took what they wanted. It was typical, really. Should've expected it. Find someone that doesn't _demand_ \- it just means you're the one demanding. Power flows one way or the other. Of course Ruby would decide Neo wasn't worth the effort. Of _course_ she would. Neo'd decided plenty of people weren't worth her time. In the past, Neo had decided she wasn't worth her own time. It was the logical choice. Why would anyone care?

_There must be a reason._

Of course there is. There's always a reason. You should've helped more, you should've run faster, you shouldn't have worn what you wore. Reasons are cheap. All that matters is the result. Something had happened, or an epiphany had been reached. One way or another, a decision had been made, and Ruby hadn't come. There's always a decision.

Neo leaned back and closed her eyes; they'd gone pink anyway. Nobody had to see. Polly's eyes were silver. Always had been, unless anybody checked the footage. And why would they?

No, nobody had to see what was happening with Neo's eyes.

She stayed until the mess hall closed. Neo had always been stubborn.


	11. Time to Say Goodbye

"How quaint." Cinder glanced around the apartment, gaze lingering on the picture frames on the walls, full of pictures of a family she shouldn't recognize. Neo agreed: room 211 was only her home as Cinder was concerned. Torchwick knew her real room. Others, like the white fang, thought she was across town. To the police and the public, she hopefully didn't live anywhere at all.

The room was a deception for one. And it wasn't even working.

ᴡʜᴀᴛ's ᴛʜᴇ ᴊᴏʙ

"To the point. Still have your Atlesian threads?"

ᴏғ ᴄᴏᴜʀsᴇ

"You've got a big night ahead of you. You're about to earn your bonus."

Did Neo still want to... she didn't know. She couldn't decide. No. No she didn't. Ruby made her choice, so Neo would have to make hers.

But at the same time, Neo made a habit of regrets. As lifestyle choices go, or wasn't one she preferred.

ɪɴsᴛᴇᴀᴅ ᴏғ ᴍᴏɴᴇʏ, ɪ ᴡɪʟʟ ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ᴀ ғᴀᴠᴏʀ.

"Oh?" it was a first, as far as Cinder knew.

So Neo would hedge her bets. ʟᴇᴀᴠᴇ ʀᴜʙʏ ʀᴏsᴇ ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ

Cinder sighed and took out her scroll. She was... was she checking the _time_? "Fine." she smiled. "Me and mine will avoid it if possible. And should an accident occur, I'll double your rate."

It was as much of a guarantee as she would get. ᴡʜᴏ ɴᴇᴇᴅs ᴛᴏ ᴅɪᴇ?

"Oh, you're going to _love_ this one."

* * *

The dropship lifted off from the pad and headed east. Unfortunately, Vale just wasn't Atlas. The path from the airfield to the front had the audacity to pass near a nonmilitary building.

The pilot either didn't know, or he didn't think it was close enough to be a problem. Or maybe he was just trained to conserve fuel.

Neo held her umbrella above her head and leapt from the roof. It wasn't flying, or even gliding, really. Neo could only fall.

Neo let go of the umbrella and tucked into a roll. The whole operation was blown if they heard her land. The umbrella drifted away as the plane moved so she grabbed the cane from her belt and hooked the handles together.

 _Oh dear. I'm afraid this may end up being_ too _fun._ Neo put them back, lay down on the ship's dome, and waited for landing.

The destroyer came into view, followed by two others. Sure, three to the east. But Neo had no idea they would be so _close!_ That didn't change the plan, it just made it much riskier.

Now that Neo had finished waiting, it was time for the main event: more waiting. She got out her scroll and opened back to page 411 in _Red: Dust And Its Applications, Part Four, As Compiled By The MDRF._ Below, the men unloaded boxes of whatever, set the craft to refuel, and left. There would almost certainly be a camera pointing at the door inside and another on the flight deck itself. Neo wouldn't go that way.

Her scroll vibrated. Neo was on the clock.

Neo inched up the dome to survey the landing area. If she jumped up from where she was, she'd pass over the cam's sightline. There were some windows overlooking the deck, so she waited for them to empty and jumped up the ship's wall.

At the top of the ship was a lookout's post. Neo slid her blade into the seal around a window and pried it open. It was the only spot on the ship where an open window would trigger a warning light instead of an alarm. And what luck, it was close to the comms center too. The ship's designer evidently thought they were more likely to need an analog communication fallback than get invaded by a woman with a combat umbrella.

The door to comms was closed. Neo kept walking and turned right. After a few more turns she passed an older man in an intersection. He walked a few more steps and then turned around to watch her.

It was the hat on her belt, or maybe her hair: Neo got to be Neo today. She kept walking, slowing a bit, and he followed.

He caught up to her mid-hall, next to a door below two cameras. Neo spun and hooked the cane around his neck, slamming his face into the door, then pulled the cane while kicking his back. Something cracked, and it wasn't aura.

_What kind of soldier doesn't have unlocked aura?_

Neo removed the lanyard from the body and swiped his ID in the reader. The door unlocked to a dark room and she dragged the body inside. _The dead kind._

Neither hall camera was facing straight down. And given that there was no alarm, the room's interior camera wasn't being watched.

Back to comms.

The door opened without any fuss. One man and a woman, both turned from their consoles to look at her. Neo raised her umbrella and fired the front at the woman, then threw the sword towards the man. The umbrella, not open, bowled the woman over. Her sword sailed past the man into his console, showering him in sparks. While he ducked, Neo dashed to the woman and struck her with the cane, twice, three times, then back to the man and kicked him in the chest. When he went down she retrieved her sword and stabbed the woman in the neck.

Neo threw it again, knocking the scroll from the man's hand, along with a finger or two - no telling who he was dialing. With her free hand, she shook a reproachful finger. She slipped the cane back into her belt next to the hat, and took out her scroll.

sɪʟᴇɴᴛ ʀᴜɴɴɪɴɢ

The man nodded about a hundred times in five seconds and got onto his former partner's console. Neo watched him as he worked, but besides keys slipping on blood he seemed honest.

"All right, the ship's in" she killed him.

Torchwick. Torchwick! Captured on her watch, Cinder had _finally_ let Neo free him. Neo would've done this job for free. She left the comms room, ran into two guards wondering why their scrolls stopped working, and killed them with the cane for a change of pace. She'd have to go back to the flight deck first, to break any escape ships.

Neo giggled.

Let Ruby abandon her. Roman would _love_ to hear what Neo could do.


	12. He Says That He Needs Me

"Well. It's about time."

Roman donned his hat, spun his cane from Neo's grasp, and rose. Then he burped, stretched his legs, and left his cell. He'd been easy to find, as the only prisoner on the ship. Its only resident. Neo smiled. Roman was Roman and that was all she wanted.

They left the cell and walked to the bridge. They stepped lightly: Neo's outfit was dry clean only, and Roman _hated_ blood on his clothes. The bridge, at least, was mostly clean. Neo'd been able to take her time there at the end. To be careful.

"All right, let's hear it. Hah." Roman loved his speech jokes. Neo smiled and brought up Cinder's message.

ɴᴇᴏ ᴋɴᴇᴡ ʏᴏᴜ ᴍɪssᴇᴅ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʙᴜʟʟʜᴇᴀᴅ sᴏ sʜᴇ ᴡᴇɴᴛ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜɪs ᴛʀᴏᴜʙʟᴇ ᴛᴏ ɢᴇᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀ sʜɪᴘ. ᴡʜʏ ɴᴏᴛ sʜᴏᴡ ʜᴇʀ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀᴘᴘʀᴇᴄɪᴀᴛᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ɢᴇsᴛᴜʀᴇ. ᴄ

"Hmm. A bit on the nose, but she never was one for subtlety. A test drive, is it?"

Neo led Roman to the front console; she'd been sure not to give anyone a chance to lock it. The interface was fairly simple. At least driving, aiming, and shooting were. In other words, everything Roman would want to do. And what Roman wanted was what she wanted.

He got to it. Neo, realizing she was staring, blushed and got out her scroll. ᴡᴇ'ʀᴇ ɢᴏᴏᴅ.

Cinder's response was a file. ʀᴜɴ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ᴘʟᴜɢ ᴍᴇ ɪɴ. ᴄ. Neo handed Roman the scroll. At this point, what harm could it do? Neo was already the proud owner of an Atlesian destroyer. Well, Roman was sort of, but they both understood it was Neo's. Not that she'd do anything with it except let Roman use it.

"Oh ho ho! Now this one... this one's going to be fun." He plugged in the scroll. Some lights switched colors on the controls, but Neo didn't see what changed. What harm could it do? Surely the Atlesians wouldn't crumple from one charging dock.

No matter. Neo stepped forward. She wouldn't walk right up to Roman lest he hit her while gesticulating, but a little bit of proximity would be fine.

He heard her step, or felt it, or saw her reflection. "Neo, be a dear and ask Cinder how long I should keep doing this. I'll keep going, probably, but at some point I should start looking guilty about it." He tossed her scroll back in a wide arc over her head. Perhaps he didn't notice her move after all. She jumped back and opened her umbrella, scooping it from the air.

ᴀɴʏ ɴᴇᴡ ᴏʀᴅᴇʀs?

ʏᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ ᴅᴏɪɴɢ ғɪɴᴇ. ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴛᴏ ɢᴏ. ᴄ Neo couldn't see specifics from inside the ship, but she got the feeling it was a big night. The sky was dark. Occasionally she saw a griffin or nevermore through the glass. Were they still above the border? Just what was Cinder planning?

 _Whatever it is, my apartment had better be intact by the end._ She presented the message to Roman. "Ugh, how boring. As is I'm only breaking the law... of all four kingdoms at once, granted... but nobody's trust. Shoo! Me and my ship need to get to know each other better."

Neo stepped back, took a breath, and concentrated on enjoying the moment. Soon everything would be back to the way it was. That was what Neo wanted.

There was a clang somewhere in the back of the ship. "Go see what that is." Roman waved a hand.

So she went.

It was what she wanted.


	13. Psycho Killer

Neo slammed open the door. Something still didn't seem quite right with Roman. The sooner she dealt with whoever or whatever this was, the faster she could be back fixing things. Everything would be all right.

On the wing of the ship, watching a locker tumble off, stood Ruby Rose.

 _Me and mine will avoid it if possible._ Cinder's words floated through Neo's mind. Well, she'd succeeded. Ruby had made it here, to her.

 _Fine then._ Mustn't let it show. Ruby had made her choice. Neo's only mistake had been not committing to her own in turn. The betrayal _had_ to be mutual. Why she had a blind spot when it came to Ruby Rose Neo didn't know. Speech means nothing if it's just words.

 _Should an accident occur, I'll double your rate._ She might even get a windfall out of it. Cinder seemed like the type to reward the boldness. And asking _would_ be an act of boldness.

Neo stepped onto the wing. Ruby had seen her. She posed with her scythe, trying to look intimidating. Was it because Neo was the only person she'd ever fought smaller than her? _Sorry. I'm not scared of you._ Neo smiled. Her eyes were already pink - she was Neo, after all - but she felt them switch.

"I'm taking back this ship. For Ironwood and the people of Vale. And for Penny." _Ironwood? Penny? The orange girl? Just what is happening out here?_

Neo looked around. Nevermores clogged the skies. Bullheads and transports were swarming around the Academy and fairgrounds. Thick columns of smoke rose from all around the city below.

 _No distractions!_ Neo charged.

Neo liked to let people tire themselves out first, but she couldn't be reactive, let herself be thrown off her game. She drew her umbrella and thrust it towards the girl. With Ruby's scythe, it would be a game of balance. Once she let go or hit the ground, the game ended.

Ruby hooked Neo's umbrella in her blade and swung it to Neo's left. Neo completed the spin and stabbed again. Ruby hooked it from below, jumped, and fired. Neo's umbrella pulled her into the air.

 _Fine then._ Ruby landed in a crouch after her jump, the tip of her scythe poking a hole in the wing. Neo opened her umbrella and guided her fall onto the scythe's horizontal handle. Ruby looked at her, so Neo smiled.

It was still a loss, though. Ruby got Neo to open her umbrella. She was already better than half the adult hunters Neo had met. _If it weren't windy here, I wouldn't have needed it. Probably._

Ruby fired her gun again, and the handle jerked, her scythe digging a deep groove into the wing. Neo backflipped off and landed, feet on either side of the groove, and bowed.

Ruby backed up and retracted her blade. By the time she fired her first painfully telegraphed shot, Neo had her umbrella out in front of her. She batted the shots away one after another and advanced until Ruby was on the edge of the wing. The girl tried to re-extend her blade, and as it unfolded Neo ducked under the girl's guard, grabbed the handle in her left hand, and kicked Ruby off the wing. Girl and scythe fell without sound.

_There. Done. I ended it. Even when they leave me, I'm still the one doing the ending._

Neo turned back and took a ragged breath. People were complicated. Far more complicated than fighting. Funny how ending a person just meant that their relationships, their loves, their hates... just _stopped_. The world becomes that much more understandable. All Neo had ever wanted to do was simplify. She took a step towards the door she'd left open.

What were _rose petals_ doing up this high?

A red avalanche slammed into Neo's back, bowling her over. She struck the wing with her umbrella and flipped over as she landed. Atop her, straddling her waist, was Ruby Rose.

How..? Semblance. Always the semblance. Something about speed. Had she _flown_?

The girl held her scythe in its gun form, muzzle against Neo's chin. Neo still had her umbrella in her right hand, under Ruby's knee. She could get out, but it might take a bullet to the head. It would hurt. She'd live. Her aura was full. And she would kill Ruby Rose again, as many times as it took.

"...Polly?" Ruby's chin was quivering. Ruby was staring into Neo's eyes. Neo's silver eyes.

_Oh no._

But she'd been fighting. Fighting means fun, and fun means pink! How did...

"Is this... Is this some sort of joke? Were you planning this all along? After what you did to my sister, you come up to me, you lie to me..." Neo shut her eyes, but it was her whole face doing the burning. "You make me your friend, you come into my room, you keep me up at night thinking how I can _help_ you, while you and your people are attacking Beacon, attacking Vale, attacking Yang!" The loud sound and pain in her head and neck meant Ruby had fired. _Get. Out._ "My SISTER!" She fired again. Neo's aura cracked. Her ears were ringing. She would have to get out now, or Ruby would kill her.

Neo opened her eyes and saw the muzzle had moved from her chin to her forehead. She spun her head around from under it and forward, knocking the barrel slightly aside. Then she sat up and headbutted Ruby, which besides splashing her dress removed the pressure of her knee. Neo reversed her umbrella grip with her right hand while she grabbed Ruby with her left. Then she lifted her upper body off the wing while hooking Crescent Rose and pinning its barrel down, holding it in her right armpit.

So Ruby extended the blade again, which snaked under Neo's body. If Neo moved back, with no aura, she'd be sliced in half. If Ruby fired, crescent rose would jerk up, and she'd be sliced in half. If Neo let go of Ruby - she couldn't hold her bend at the stomach - she'd be sliced in half. She held on for her life.

_Sloppy. Of course this is how you'd go. Every time you let your feelings get in the way, keep you attached to people who don't deserve it, don't deserve you..._

Ruby's dress occupied Neo's entire field of view. _Or people you don't deserve._ Fine. Maybe she didn't. But she wasn't going to die like this. She wouldn't be killed by Ruby Rose.

First, Neo dropped her umbrella.

She brought up her right hand slowly, until she was sure Ruby could see it was empty. Both were silent. Neo still couldn't see anything except for Ruby's shallow breaths and, in the corner of her eyes, her windblown cape.

So Neo took her hand and moved it down. Slowly. Painfully slowly. Down to her waist, where she took out her scroll. Then, with one hand, she typed blindly, holding the scroll where Ruby would be able to see it.

"Explain then."

Neo kept typing.

"Give me a reason not to pull this trigger, Polly." Ruby wasn't asking. She was begging. _She's not a killer. Not like you._

She typed again.

"You're welcome." Ruby's voice cracked.

Neo typed more. Ruby was silent for a few seconds, and then Crescent Rose folded back up and Ruby hung it back on her belt. She got off of Neo and stood up.

Neo stood up too, looking at her screen. ɪ ǫʟsᴏᴇʀʏ ɪ ᴄᴀɴ ᴡxᴘʟᴀɪɴ. ɪ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ʟɪʀᴅ ɴᴏᴛ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴀsᴍʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴍᴀᴛᴇʀᴇᴅ. ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ғᴏʀ ʜᴇʟ[ᴘɪɴɢ ᴍᴇ sᴘᴇᴀᴋ. ɪ ᴡᴀɪᴛᴇᴅ ғᴘʀ ʏᴏᴜ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴇss ғᴏʀ ғɪᴠʀ ʜᴏᴜʀs ᴛᴏ ᴍᴇᴇᴛ ʏᴏʀ ᴛᴇᴀᴍ.

Neo stared up at Ruby's face. Her vision was blurred. Ruby looked near in tears as well.

"Red? What are you doing to my Neo? I'll have you know I called dibs."

Neo turned to face the door. Roman stood in it, his cane pointed towards them. Barrel uncapped.

"And Neo? I'll be honest, that _really_ didn't look up to your level. But I'm always ready for an encore to prove me wrong."


	14. So Much to Give

Neo decided who got to live.

She was already between Roman and Ruby. She walked towards the man, stopped halfway down the wing, and shook her head.

"Neo, this really isn't like you. Let's just kill the mini-huntress and be on our way. Clearly you've changed without my stabilizing presence in your life, but after a just-for-two weekend getaway everything will fall perfectly into place again." He gestured with his cane for her to scoot over.

Neo shook her head.

"Polly, Roman is a very bad man and I need to see him answer for his crimes. My team is fighting down there. People are dying! And they will keep dying unless we take this ship out of the sky."

Ruby planted her scythe's blade in the wing and pointed the barrel. Neo turned around and shook her head.

"Polly, Yang was framed for an attack. That's why I didn't make it to dinner. And I'm sorry. I really am." Ruby looked sad. Her hand tightened around the trigger.

"But you can't stop me."

Neo dived out of the way as she fired. Roman knocked the shot away with his cane, but Ruby was already there. She swung left, right, and it was all Roman could do to defend. Finally he got behind her and ran out onto the wing himself. Both fired.

 _No. no. No!_ Neo ran between the two, opened her umbrella, and blocked both shots. _I can stop them both. All I have to do is be perfect._ They fired again. She spun and blocked. Roman growled and dodged around her, so she flipped over to him, grabbed his wrist and flung him away.

"Neo, this is NOT THE TIME for your dramatic posturing." He rose. "You've trusted me this far. Now trust me enough when I say you're going to get hurt if you stay here."

Ruby dashed - she curled up into her cape somehow - and sprang around Neo to Roman. As she swung her scythe, Neo grabbed her foot and threw her through the open door into the ship.

Neo landed hard on the side of the wing, her umbrella pulled in a gust of wind. Ruby got her rifle set up again and fired on Roman. A shot connected.

"Stop!" someone yelled. Neo looked around. It was herself. Both stared.

Roman broke the silence. "You listen to me, Neopolitan. I made you. I _named_ you."

 _I let myself get too attached. I got blind. To both._ Neo got up and walked towards the door. "Now if you think you're going to ruin this for our boss, ruin it for me, I have some terrible news for you." Neo closed her umbrella and fired it through the doorway. It sailed right past Ruby holding her scythe out to block, and into the door controls, closing her off from the pair on the wing. Neo took her blade and drove it through the external keypad. There was a muffled sound from inside. It might have been shouting. Neo might have imagined it.

_You wanted the ship. Take it._

Neo placed her bare blade on her belt and got out her scroll. ᴛʜᴇ sʜɪᴘ ɪs ʜᴇʀs. ʟᴇᴛ's ʟᴇᴀᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪɴ

Roman shot his cane. Neo's scroll flew from her hands, along with two fingers and a thumb. He smiled at her.

Neo focused.

Torchwick wasn't her father. He wasn't her uncle. He wasn't her buyer. He wasn't her owner. They didn't have power over her any more. He was her boss. Her boss by choice. She would just have to do to him what she did to the rest. Her right hand didn't matter. Not yet.

 _But I didn't get a chance to tell you what I would say._ Torchwick shot again. Neo dodged it and rushed him. He swung his cane; she caught it in her hand and kicked him, but he didn't let go. She kicked him again. _Let go or take more._ He lost his grip and tumbled back. Neo dropped the cane and kicked it off the ship, now tilting downwards, and advanced.

"Neo, we can still salvage this. We are vital to Cinder's plans. If we get back in there and you stop! Disrespecting! Me! We can keep"

Neo kicked him off the ship too. She couldn't kill him. Not today. More weakness. Maybe the fall would do it.

The ship kept tilting downwards. Ruby must have already abandoned it. It was aimed at a kingdom border, but it didn't look like it was going to clear the wall.

 _This is what I get for throwing away my umbrella. And my..._ Neo made fists. She was losing blood fast. _Act before thinking. Scream and cry and fix it later. No aura._

Neo jumped onto the top of the ship and walked to the front, just above the bridge. The ship was accelerating. As the wall neared she started running back up the ship, not quite outpacing the fall, but keeping her mostly still. Then the nose impacted and she jumped sideways for the wall's walkway.

She landed in a roll and ran from the crash. The wall was crumbling outwards from the point of impact. Neo was running on pure adrenaline. She had to get off the wall before she felt her wounds. Before the ship exploded.

It did. Neopolitan wondered, _why was I ever scared?_ And then she didn't wonder anything more.


	15. It Goes On

"I'm sorry."

That voice again. Ruby had never heard her speak the words, but they still sounded just like her. Just right. How Polly would sound if she'd said them.

 _Neo._ Polly. Neopolitan. It had been so transparent. But how could she have known? There was so much to distract her. So much she'd ignored.

A quiet thump, and Ruby opened her eyes. All the times she'd dreamed of the words, they'd never been followed by more sounds. She'd woken up plenty, sure, but each time she'd fallen back asleep. Because the words were never real.

Ruby moved her blanket and lifted Nora's arm from her chest - the girl tended to spread across the tent - and rose. It was Jaune and Ren on duty tonight. Ruby slipped through the flap and zipped it back up; aura kept the cold at bay, for a little while.

Jaune turned from the fire and smiled his sad smile. It was the only one he had any more. "Can't sleep?"

"Hi Jaune." Ruby smiled. "Nah, I just thought I heard something. Besides Nora snoring. You and Ren don't know how lucky you are."

"Well, _you_ don't have to sleep next to Ren."

Ruby cringed. It had been her squeamishness that led to the two-tent solution, but maybe they _should_ try putting Nora and Ren together. The two seemed used to each other's company.

"Hey, don't worry about it." Jaune rose and put his hand on her shoulder. "I got used to sleeping through anything back at home." He gave a fading laugh. "Really, the only one with a problem..."

Jaune stopped speaking.

Ruby looked up at Jaune's face. His trembling chin. _I should have been faster. I should have stopped it._ Taking a deep breath, Ruby pulled him into a hug. Well, his torso, at any rate. His head went straight over her shoulder.

"What," Jaune made a sound suggesting some form of involuntary organ compression, "is that?"

Ruby released him and turned. Poking out from behind her tent, in a patch clear of snow... First Ruby took it for a very tiny grimm. No, it was a mask. Like the ones from the white fang.

"Jaune, get Ren." Ruby reached for her belt and felt air. _Of course._ She dashed into her tent and placed a hand over Nora's mouth, stopping a snore. Ruby bent down. "There's something behind the tent," she whispered.

Nora nodded and reached for Magnhild. Ruby picked up Crescent. "Circle around."

Nora left the tent. After a count of two, Ruby opened Crescent and sliced the back of the tent down the middle.

She dashed through the cut. "Stop right..." her foot hit something. Nora appeared to her right, and Jaune to her left, Crocea in hand. The two saw her and looked down at her feet.

It was hard to make out with the tent blocking the fire, but he looked mostly intact. The only visible problem areas were missing fingers, a deep gouge into his chest, and a pit in his red hair where his second horn should have been. He wore black and red, although some of that might have been the blood.

Horns. Red hair. Yang and told her about this. Blake had drawn this. She thought nobody else had seen, but Ruby always had her sniper's eyes. The leader of the white fang, Adam Taurus.

The body held a sheathed sword in one hand, and a note was sticking out of his other. Nora and Jaune watched as Ruby bent down to pull it out. She stepped around the tent, almost bumping into Ren, and read it in the firelight.

_Don't expect this to become a habit._

And underneath, in a messier script:

_But yes. I am. n-p_

Ruby wasn't one for killing, but she couldn't do anything about it now. Besides, she'd heard what the man had done. To Blake, to Yang. It was almost sweet.

"What does it say?" asked Ren.

She _would_ have to do something. To stop Neo. To stop more death. And she knew she'd have no victory in strength.

"Someone... someone's on our side."

Six words Ruby had gotten to hear. Six precious, beautiful words. She would remember them all, even if two of them were the same.

They would tide Ruby over until she heard more.

ᴇɴᴅ


End file.
